Chef, 41, ‘made chilling confession to pal after murdering mum-of-four ex-partner, 32, whose body has never been found’
A CHEF made a chilling confession to a friend after murdering his ex-partner whose body has never been found, a court heard.
Darren Osment, 41, allegedly killed Claire Holland, 32, after a drunken row in Bristol in 2012.
Jurors heard in the 11 years since the mum-of-four vanished, Osment has told several people he killed Claire or paid someone else to do it.
In one alleged confession to a friend, he said: "I … I did kill … I did kill her you know, I did kill my ex. I killed her. I … I killed my ex.
"I threw it off … into the river off Avonmouth Docks in Bristol. I strangled her."
When asked why, Osment replied: "No c***, no stupid bitch is going to keep me away from my child."
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Bristol Crown Court also heard his ex-partner told police the pub chef suggested he paid someone to kill Claire rather than ";get his own hands dirty".
He also allegedly told another friend: "I paid someone £500 to have the mother of my child executed."
Jurors heard the couple met in 2008 when they worked in a cafe, with their first child born two years later.
Tensions rose between the pair after Claire continued to drink through her pregnancy, it was said.
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A few weeks after she gave birth, police were called to their home following allegations of alcohol-fuelled domestic violence.
Shortly afterwards, the child was placed in foster care and later looked after by a relative, the court was told.
One social worker told police Osment blamed Claire for the move as she had called police to the home.
In the week leading to her disappearance, the pair spoke on the phone after previously having minimal contact.
On the night Claire vanished, she told friends in a pub she was meeting Osment when he finished work, it was said.
The court was told Claire left the pub drunk with no keys, no phone and an unknown amount of money on her.
Andrew Langdon KC, prosecuting, said: "Once you have heard all the evidence you will be sure that she died at the hands of this defendant, Darren Osment.
"He knows the manner of her death and he knows how her body was disposed of.
"In the 11 years since he killed her, he has been carrying the burden of knowing what he did to her.
"At times he has sought to relieve himself of the burden."
In 2019, jurors heard Osment called police claiming he wanted to "hand himself" in for murder.
He added: "I've had enough of it all now. I just want the monkey off my back."
In the call played to the court, Osment can be heard saying he "sort of" murdered his ex but didn't know what had happened.
When he was arrested, he told officers: "I didn't do it. But I had it arranged."
The alleged killer also confided in an undercover police officer "Paddy O'Hara", who was tasked with gaining his trust after he was released under investigation.
Osment allegedly made reference to Claire having a "nice fucking swimming lesson" while he spat in the direction of the sea.
He then struggled not to vomit and mentioned her body being "half way to Spain", the court heard.
The prosecutor added: "He never raised the question, given that he knew she was dead as to by what means, other than at his hands, she had met her death.
"He did not, as you and I or any other person innocent of the killing of Claire might have done, ever console himself with the thought that the police might find the real murderer.
"We say, there was no consolation in that thought for Darren Osment, because he knew who the real murderer was.
"He has, we suggest, never forgotten what he did to Claire. He has always been haunted by the memory of it, and that weight, the trauma of that memory, has taken a considerable toll upon him."
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Osment, of Patchway, South Gloucestershire, has pleaded not guilty to murder on a date between June 5 and June 8, 2012.
The trial continues.
